Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Praying the Psalms--Innocents?

Psalm 7A David Psalm

1-2 God! God! I am running to you for dear life; the chase is wild. If they catch me, I'm finished: ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions, dragged into the forest and left unlooked for, unremembered.

3-5 God, if I've done what they say— betrayed my friends, ripped off my enemies— If my hands are really that dirty, let them get me, walk all over me, leave me flat on my face in the dirt.

Father God--Truth and honesty are what stand in the end. Looks and perception look good on the outside, but there must be reality that stands behind them. Accusations are one thing, but reality is another. I wonder if we will be surprised in the end by what the truth is? Power does not make right. It is just power. You are the one that vindicates and who's judgement will stand the test of time. David here is calling for you to vindicate him.

Father--I wonder if David thought of this psalm when he was told of Uriah’s death? In the end David and I both stand in need of your grace. Here in the heat of being pursued David appeals to you for vindication of the present that he was experiencing.

Father--You know the end from the beginning and right now I ask for your forgiveness for those places where I will miss the mark, absolutely make a mess of it. Prepare me now for the changes that will need to take place to avoid the future pitfalls and footfalls that might lead me away from your grace.

The enemy surrounds and the powers that are arrayed against your people are mighty...but you are the Ancient of Days, Mighty and Holy with no shadow of turning. You know me Lord, so much better than I know myself. Whenever I walk toward the light shadow casts away from me.

Father--David appeals to you as being an innocent. He was a young man here. Age, experience and raw life brings me to the place where I can only claim grace but never innocence. Grace at the foot of the cross of your only begotten Son is the only thing that I claim.

Tonight this is as far as I will go. I know that David ends with praise to you...and I know that evil needs to be confronted. As I write this the Arab Spring results are bearing fruit in early autumn. Kadafi's reign in Libya is coming to an end.

Tyrants rise and fall with propaganda making what they do appear right. I am not the one to judge...I am just the one tonight to pray for your people in Libya who are not safe because evil is being corner on their door step. Keep your children safe. Are my brother’s dieing tonight as a tyrant's rule comes to an end?

Thank you for the relative safety that I experience right now. Thank you for the chance to serve you in this place. Make this place a place of grace and hope because of Your mercy received.